Geoscience frontiers最新文献

{"title":"Coda of the snowball: combined U-Pb LA-ICPMS dating of calcite-after-aragonite crystal fans and clumped isotope thermometry of Ediacaran cap carbonates","authors":"Fabrício A. Caxito , Cristiano Lana , Davi Carvalho , Gabriel J. Uhlein , Carolina Reis , Paulo Henrique A. Dias , Denise Canabrava , Juliana Okubo , George Luiz Luvizotto , Lucas Warren , Shuhai Xiao , Tian Gan , Galen Halverson , Peter Crockford , Kristin Bergmann , Katharine W. Huntington , Andrew J. Schauer , Mariana M. Leite","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102218","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102218","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Direct dating of sedimentary successions is a main challenge in geochronology, key for the establishment of chronostratigraphic frameworks for both regional and global events. U-Pb in-situ LA-ICPMS direct dating of carbonate samples is emerging as a promising tool, but complications such as mobility and low U contents hinder most of the attempts on common carbonate rocks. We present new U-Pb in-situ LA-ICPMS data for Ediacaran cap carbonate and related successions from Brazil, China and Canada, along with stable carbon, oxygen, and clumped isotope data for the same samples. The novel dataset reveals that in some instances, especially within calcite-after-aragonite crystal fans and microbialite facies, U is retained from early diagenesis through intermediate to deep burial, resulting in tightly constrained and well-spread linear fits in the Concordia space. Calcite-after-aragonite crystal fan samples from the Guia Fm. (Brazil) and Hayhook Fm. (Canada) caps, sitting immediately above glacial diamictite, yielded 632 ± 14 Ma and 631 ± 6 Ma, respectively, supporting quick deposition and diagenesis following Marinoan deglaciation. Clumped isotope apparent equilibrium temperatures (<em>T</em><sub>Δ47</sub>) of 79 (+12/−11) °C and 181 (+14/−13) °C (95% confidence level), respectively, indicate that the U-Pb system remained unreset within the crystal fans even through the deep burial realm. In the Sete Lagoas Formation of the Bambuí Group (Brazil), crystal fans are not restricted to the immediate cap carbonate sitting above glacial deposits, but instead occur throughout ca. 400 m of carbonate-dominated facies, in distinct stratigraphic intervals corresponding to the Pedro Leopoldo and Lagoa Santa members. Samples from the basal Pedro Leopoldo member yielded U-Pb ages between 625 Ma and 605 Ma. A crystal-fan bearing sample of the Acauã Formation in the Sergipano Belt (Brazil) yielded similar results, suggesting protracted deposition/diagenesis of the negative <em>δ</em><sup>13</sup>C-bearing limestone above the basal cap dolostone. Crystal fans in the topmost Lagoa Santa member, just below the contact with the mudstone-rich Serra de Santa Helena Formation and 330 m above the contact with the glacials, yielded late Ediacaran ages at ca. 570–550 Ma. All of these yielded <em>T</em><sub>Δ47</sub> of around 110–149 °C. These ages are identical within uncertainty to U-Pb ages obtained in stromatolites at the same stratigraphic level, and from the phosphorite-bearing stromatolites of the Salitre Formation, Una Group, further north in the São Francisco craton, which yielded a lower <em>T</em><sub>Δ47</sub> of 91 ± 7 °C. Finally, both the cap dolostone matrix and isopachous cement filling sheet-cavities from a sample of the basal Doushantuo Formation of South China align in a regression with a lower intercept at ca. 619 Ma. The new U-Pb carbonate data are highly coherent with available U-Pb zircon and Re-Os whole-rock data worldwide, and also with previou","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102218"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Natural resource exploitation and productive capacity as drivers of ecological footprint: The roles of technology and economic policy uncertainty","authors":"Yi Wang,&nbsp;Guang Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2026.102247","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2026.102247","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural resource exploitation—particularly the extraction of minerals and related primary commodities—continues to shape patterns of economic expansion, structural transformation, and environmental strain across developing regions. Understanding how these resource dynamics interact with broader economic structures and institutional conditions is crucial for designing sustainable development pathways. In this context, productive capacity, economic policy uncertainty, and ecological pressure emerge as central dimensions through which the environmental consequences of development can be assessed. This study investigates the impact of the productive capacity index and economic policy uncertainty on the ecological footprint of 33 Asian developing countries from 2000 to 2022, explicitly considering mineral resource dependence, foreign direct investment, and economic growth as control variables. Using advanced econometric techniques—including slope heterogeneity diagnostics, the Westerlund cointegration test, Moment Quantile Regression (MMQR), and Kernel-Based Regularized Least Squares (KRLS)—the analysis reveals that productive capacity, policy uncertainty, and natural resources (including minerals) are negatively associated with the ecological footprint, suggesting that stronger institutional and productive structures mitigate environmental pressures. By contrast, economic growth and foreign direct investment are positively related to ecological footprint, highlighting the environmental trade-offs of rapid expansion and external capital flows. The findings underscore the need for sustainable mineral resource management and integrated policy frameworks that align productive capacity with environmental stewardship. The study concludes that resource-rich economies must balance mineral exploitation with long-term energy and environmental strategies, ensuring that productivity gains do not come at the cost of ecological degradation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102247"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146034335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physics-guided deep learning for global sea surface temperature forecasting: Balancing accuracy and stability across timescales","authors":"Shiji Dong ,&nbsp;Yan Li ,&nbsp;Xiaobin Yin ,&nbsp;Qing Xu ,&nbsp;Peng Mao","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2026.102255","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2026.102255","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate sea surface temperature (SST) forecasting across multiple timescales remains challenging. Daily forecasting frequently relies on autoregressive models prone to instability and over-smoothing, whereas monthly forecasting suffers from sparse data and the complex dynamics of ocean systems. Existing deep learning methods struggle to address these diverse challenges simultaneously. We introduce SSTFormer, a novel physics-guided deep learning framework that achieves leading results, with root mean squared error of 0.17 °C for daily forecasts and 0.60 °C for monthly forecasts, yielding lower bias and improved spatial coherence. The model’s core innovation is its unified and flexible architecture. For multi-step daily forecasts (1–15 days), it deploys as a “two-phase sequential ensemble” that replaces conventional autoregression and uses ocean current to solve instability and mitigate error accumulation. For single-step monthly forecasts, it is used in a direct forecasting configuration, proving effective at handling “sparse data” and “complex ocean dynamics.” SSTFormer demonstrates how a single architecture, through flexible deployment, can address the unique challenges of multi-scale SST forecasting, highlighting its potential as a unified and robust framework.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102255"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146034337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Landslide susceptibility assessment using machine learning with a novel SHAP-based sampling strategy","authors":"Lei-Lei Liu ,&nbsp;Can Duan ,&nbsp;Jun-Hua Gao ,&nbsp;Hao Xiao ,&nbsp;Wen-Qing Zhu ,&nbsp;Can Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102188","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102188","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The landslide and non-landslide samples are important inputs for machine learning-based landslide susceptibility assessment. Compared to landslide samples, non-landslide samples generally present higher uncertainty due to random sampling. However, most sampling strategies (e.g., the feature space-based) for non-landslides only consider the characteristics of a single factor or the overall characteristics of all factors, which subsequently leads to either excessive artificial concentration of non-landslide samples or sampling information redundancy. To address these issues, a SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) based sampling strategy considering combined characteristics of landslide conditioning factors (LCFs) is proposed. This strategy sorts the importance of LCFs based on SHAP algorithm and generates multiple sampling spaces using different numbers of LCFs in the sense of importance order. The optimal sampling space is selected according to the Bayesian optimization algorithm. Then, random forest (RF) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) models are utilized to assess the susceptibility of Chaling County, Yanling County, and Guidong County, China, based on the proposed strategy and traditional random sampling. The results indicate that, compared with the traditional RF and XGBoost models, the improved models show better performance with an 8.2% and 9.0% increase in the AUC, respectively. Furthermore, the SHAP-based sampling framework demonstrates good adaptability across the study areas with different geological and geomorphic conditions, suggesting its potential transferability to other regions, although local optimization of parameter settings may still be required.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102188"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147448629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cross-regional extrapolation of landslide susceptibility mapping via transfer learning","authors":"Yunhao Wang ,&nbsp;Wengang Zhang ,&nbsp;Luqi Wang ,&nbsp;Songlin Liu ,&nbsp;Kaiqiang Zhang ,&nbsp;Pengfei Liu ,&nbsp;Weixin Sun ,&nbsp;Shuihua Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102212","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102212","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) is an essential tool for the prevention and management of landslide-related disasters. Conventional machine learning-based LSM method faces significant limitations in cross-regional extrapolation. To address this challenge, this study develops a transfer learning (TL) model based on the Convolutional Neural Network–Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (CNN-BiLSTM) framework, specifically designed for cross-regional LSM. A total of 11 modelling scenarios is established to compare the cross-regional extrapolation performance of Random Forest (RF), CNN-BiLSTM, and TL models, with Wanzhou District and Wushan County in Chongqing used as case studies. The results indicate that, compared to the strategy of directly expanding training dataset used by RF and CNN-BiLSTM models, the pre-training and fine-tuning strategy employed by the TL model is more suitable for county-scale LSM and its cross-regional extrapolation. Additionally, the cross-regional extrapolation performance of the TL model improves as the volume of source domain data increases. Finally, the SHAP algorithm is used to provide a global interpretation of the TL #3 model, which demonstrates the best performance in cross-regional model extrapolation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102212"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147448630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transport of colloidal Au-bearing nanoparticles driven by metamorphic decarbonization","authors":"Zhenjiang Wang ,&nbsp;Shaorui Zhao ,&nbsp;Jingbo Li ,&nbsp;Yanfei Zhang ,&nbsp;Chao Wang ,&nbsp;Dan Li ,&nbsp;Zhenmin Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102240","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102240","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The genesis of bonanza-style gold deposits, characterized by weight-percent-level Au enrichment, challenges conventional models of chemical transport via aqueous complexes. Through high-pressure experiments (0.5–1.5 GPa, 600–1150 °C) combined with thermodynamic modeling and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses, we demonstrate that CO₂-rich fluids generated by metamorphic decarbonization create overpressures exceeding ∼ 200 MPa. This initiates explosive upward migration of sulfide liquids containing Au-Ag nanoparticles (NPs) into porous peridotite at velocities up to 55.9 ± 12.9 μm/h. High-resolution TEM analyses furthermore confirm the mechanical entrainment of Au-Ag NPs within sulfides. Fractal analysis (<em>FD</em> = 1.55–1.62) of dendritic sulfide networks reveals that viscous fingering dominates fluid dynamics. We propose a unified model where gas-driven filter pressing extracts Au-bearing sulfides from subducted slabs, while viscous fingering further facilitates kilometer-scale transport through lithospheric faults. This novel mechanism bridges mantle-derived carbon fluxes with crustal mineralization, offering new insights into the formation of ultrahigh-grade gold deposits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102240"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Topographic and morphological effects of global earthquake- and rainstorm-induced landslides","authors":"Wenchao Huangfu ,&nbsp;Haijun Qiu ,&nbsp;Jiading Wang ,&nbsp;Ninglian Wang ,&nbsp;Yang Zhang ,&nbsp;Ya Liu ,&nbsp;Ali Darvishi Boloorani ,&nbsp;Mohib Ullah","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102215","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102215","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Landslides have different topographic and morphological characteristics due to their different triggering mechanisms. However, the differences in the characteristics of earthquake- and rainstorm-induced landslides remain unclear. In this paper, we collect 12 cases of earthquake- and rainstorm-induced landslides around the world and reveal the differences in characteristics of the two types of landslides. By examining the geometric characteristics and location distribution of the landslides, the results show that earthquake-induced landslides tend to have larger areas, perimeter, lengths, widths, area to perimeter ratios (area/perimeter), major axis (<em>S</em>_M), and minor axis (<em>s</em>_m) than rainstorm-induced landslides. In addition, earthquake-induced landslides have more complex, rounded, and compact shapes than rainstorm-induced landslides. Earthquake-induced landslides are predominantly clustered near ridges, whereas rainstorm-induced landslides are predominantly clustered near valleys. The results also indicate that earthquake- and rainstorm-induced landslides mostly occur on 30°–50° and 10°–30° slopes, respectively, and both types are more likely to occur on sunny slopes. Moreover, the compactness and major axis are negatively logarithmically correlated for earthquake-induced landslides, while they are negatively exponentially correlated for rainstorm-induced landslides. Additional earthquake- and rainstorm-induced landslide events have verified the reliability and extensibility of the research conclusions. This work is beneficial for the management of landslide hazards and the effective implementation of landslide prediction and risk assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102215"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-modal characterization of ultramafic rock: Precursors relevant to serpentinization and hydrogen generation","authors":"Jiejie Li ,&nbsp;Emma Black ,&nbsp;Christopher Miller ,&nbsp;Kunning Tang ,&nbsp;Peyman Mostaghimi ,&nbsp;Andrew Feitz ,&nbsp;T.David Waite ,&nbsp;Ryan T. Armstrong","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102220","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102220","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural hydrogen (H₂) generated by the reaction of ultramafic rocks with water is increasingly recognized as a promising low-carbon energy resource with the analysis of rock mineralogy and structural characteristics recognized to play a crucial role in assessing its subsurface generation potential. In this study, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (micro-XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) are employed to analyze the density, elemental distribution, mineral composition, and surface spatial relationships of an ultramafic rock sample. In addition, deep learning-based image analysis is employed to achieve high-resolution mineral phase characterization, enabling quantitative analysis of the spatial distribution, co-location, and contact surfaces of the mineral phases. Focusing on a particular sample that was considered a likely initiator of hydrogen generation due to its mineral contents, our results indicate that the sample is primarily composed of Fe-Mg-rich olivine and silicate minerals, with most olivine phases being Mg-rich forsterite or mixtures of forsterite and Fe-rich fayalite. The sample also contains Fe-S sulfides and high-density metal-enriched phases, including Ni-rich phases that may enhance the H₂-generating potential of serpentinization reactions. These findings highlight the mineralogical complexity of the studied ultramafic rock and the value of integrating compositional and spatial data when considering the potential of particular materials for hydrogen generation. The integrated analytical approach proposed in this study provides new insights and practical tools for evaluating the hydrogen generation potential associated with subsurface serpentinization in ultramafic rock.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102220"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Contrasted detection of lipid biomarkers in Ediacaran stromatolites from Amane-n’Tourhart in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas","authors":"Daniel Carrizo ,&nbsp;Mohamed Beraaouz ,&nbsp;Mohamed Hssaisoune ,&nbsp;Laura Sánchez-García ,&nbsp;Olga Prieto-Ballesteros ,&nbsp;Víctor Parro","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2026.102251","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2026.102251","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During the Ediacaran Period (635<em>–</em>538.8 Ma), the photosynthetic activity due to cyanobacterial communities and early photosynthetic eukaryotes prompted the wide oxygenation of the terrestrial atmosphere. Biogeochemical evidence of this type of communities and activity in different terrestrial environments is very scarce. In this work, we search for lipid biomarkers and their carbon specific isotopic composition in stromatolites from an Ediacaran volcanic alkaline lake in the Anti-Atlas Mountains, in Morocco. Molecular analysis reveals the presence of <em>n</em>-alkanes, isoprenoids, hopanes and steranes in the Amane-n’Tourhart stromatolites, with compound-specific <em>δ</em>¹³C values for <em>n</em>-alkanes and isoprenoids within the range of autotrophic organisms using the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. Results from contamination controls and laboratory tests attest for the indigeneity and syngenicity of the detected biomarkers. In addition, molecular and isotopic analysis of hydrocarbons allows for the recognition of phototrophic activity from the prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities developed in this extreme alkaline lake in anoxic conditions. These unique results shed light on a key Period in the evolution of life on Earth in the particular region of Amane-n’Tourhart. The set of molecular and isotopic biomarkers detected in the Amane-n’Tourhart stromatolites supports the presence of some of the first complex organisms (i.e. fungi and early animals) and the relevance of the most prominent metabolism in present day biology (i.e. Calvin cycle), and expands the catalog of biomarkers preserved from that geological Period to reconstruct its paleobiology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102251"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145972982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microstructure-driven prediction of undrained shear strength of deep-sea sediments: A multivariate approach bridging physical–mechanical properties","authors":"Yu-Min Shi ,&nbsp;Fu-Ping Gao ,&nbsp;Ning Wang ,&nbsp;Wen-Gang Qi ,&nbsp;Jian-Tao Liu ,&nbsp;Jun-Qin Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102243","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gsf.2025.102243","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An innovative framework for correlating physical–mechanical properties of deep-sea sediments is established through a comprehensive database integrating microstructural, mineralogical, and geotechnical data from over 300 samples. Advanced cold field emission SEM analyses reveal unique flocculated-laminated microstructures dominated by organic components and smectite-rich clay minerals. Microstructural parameters and relationships between macroscopic and microscopic characteristics are further examined, which enhances the fundamental understanding of the correlations between physical and mechanical properties. Statistical analyses demonstrate strong interdependencies among water content, buoyant unit weight, and void ratio, confirming their equivalence as physical descriptors. Crucially, conventional terrestrial soil models show limited applicability for predicting undrained shear strength in deep-sea environments, particularly underestimating strength parameters by neglecting sediment sensitivity and liquidity index. Through multiple nonlinear regression and the construction of multivariate distribution, predictive models are developed incorporating buoyant unit weight, liquidity index, and sensitivity as key governing factors, achieving superior accuracy compared to existing methods. This investigation advances the understanding of physical–mechanical properties of deep-sea sediments, thus providing critical insights for assessing subsea geo-hazards.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12711,"journal":{"name":"Geoscience frontiers","volume":"17 2","pages":"Article 102243"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145972984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}